I am looking to go to Europe for 10 days. Four in party. Flying into Amsterdam and going to Munich and 2 days in Lucerne. Can’t decide .....to rent car out of Amsterdam, take train to Cologne and rent a car because of congestion in Amsterdam. Or just go by train. My main concern is cost. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Also thought of making a city a center point and take a train into Lucerne because they say it’s expensive to drive in and will be hard to find some place to park the car.

Are you flying from the US? Are you spending time in Amsterdam? Please do not drive straight off a Transatlantic flight. It's not safe for you, your passengers or other people on the road.

For info on buying train tickets as cheaply as possible see https://www.seat61.com/Europe-train-tickets.htm

Also, check driving costs at https://www.viamichelin.com/

You do not want a car in the center of any European city, they weren't designed for it.

If you rent the car in one country and drop it off in another one you'll pay a large drop fee.

so maybe we don't reinvent the wheel . . . https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...witzerland.cfm

crikey, the logical thing would be take the train, the roads are a bit tight, you have to find somewhere to dump the thing when you stop etc etc.

train it

Take the train. Why on earth would you burden yourself with a car? This is a no-brainer.

Fares for flights from Amsterdam to Basel start around 30 EUR (without checked in luggage).
Fares for the Zurich - Munich bus start at 15 EUR

I like to drive and be able to stop when I want to. I decided I’d rent it in Cologne. My biggest concern is not driving around Germany, but where to stay near Switzerland and take the train into Lucerne for a day or two. Then take train back to where I left car. I was wondering if hotels would allow you to stay and leave car?

Having a car can offer a freedom not otherwise available and a chance to see places that are not readily visited via public transportation, and certainly, there are times when I choose to rent a car, too! But there are disadvantages to having a car. As examples:

- Some of those “oh, doesn’t that look charming!” places aren’t actually that charming, and by the time you get back on the road, you can end up with less time than might be ideal for visiting the places that were your priorities.

- Driving can be stressful – and I say that as someone who loves driving! But some roads are challenging, unexpected detours or GPS failures can be a bit daunting, and driving into cities (and finding parking) can make the last part of a long trip less than pleasant.

- Driving – or at least responsible driving – poses constraints on the driver. For example, the driver may be unable to truly enjoy spectacular scenery, as s/he needs to pay attention to the road -- sometimes, very careful attention! And depending on how much one eats and one’s size and and how long one relaxes over a meal, even a glass of wine with lunch may carry risks.

- Driving is generally not a particularly green choice – and for some of us, that is a worthy consideration.

- By driving, you give up one of the best things about taking public transportation -- opportunities to interact with people from the area, or gain insights into local norms and traditions.

If there is any chance that you will have jet lag, I would strongly encourage you to take public transportation for your first night or two. Although many people are not aware of it, there is mounting evidence that driving with jet lag is just as dangerous -- to yourself and others -- as driving drunk, and nothing you can do will prevent the microsleeps (which you might not even notice) that are the apparent culprit. And please note – microsleeps aren’t dependent on getting sleep or not, they result from shifting your waking / sleeping cycle away from the one to which you are accustomed. Seriously -- NOT a good idea, no matter your other constraints and no matter your prior experience!

>>> stay near Switzerland and take the train into Lucerne for a day or two. Then take train back to where I left car.
>>> My main concern is cost.

These two requirements are also incompatible. You are chewing up transportation cost backtracking and consuming time while accomplishing less. Your parking and rental cost clocks are ticking while you are leaving your car idle.

@ greg: You have, as usual, pointed to a key issue.

We tried on the earlier thread. I don't think there is any convincing this OP.

@ janisj: I missed that -- thanks for pointing it out. Too bad -- the OP asked for advice and has gotten some great input, but apparently isn't willing to take it on board.

If I was doing a countryside to countryside holiday in this area (and I do) I'd consider using a car. But if I was doing a city to city tour then the train is the logical decision.

For this very reason taking the train into Lucerne is very much the sensible decision and most hotels out of town will let you leave the car (but not all so you need to check their website).

I'd also like to know when you are traveling. Some of the roads you are likely to drive on are undergoing a massive rebuild this last summer and next summer so sitting in a blockage (as I did this last summer for hours) is not to be recommended. This is now so bad that my BIL who drives over this region for his work does whatever he can to avoid getting stuck and still fails despite great experience.

The advice to take the train is not offered because we are being a pain but because it makes sense and I'd only drive if I had no other choice rather than as a "i love to drive option".

Not judging the whole scenario/itinerary but when your route is Cologne - Black Forest - Lucerne - Munich - Cologne it makes absolutely no sense at all to leave the rental car sit idle somewhere near the Swiss border.

Driving to and into Luzern is no rocket science at all and not one bit more complicated than driving in Munich or Freiburg or Basel.

You need a vignette (toll sticker) for Swiss motorways and you probably will need to pay for hotel parking for 1 or 2 nights. But these extra costs of maybe $70-80 in total are probably negligable from an overall perspective.

At least you can take another route (by car) from Luzern to Munich than the one you used from the Black Forest region.

NOTE: The OP started another thread:
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...witzerland.cfm

Or maybe this thread is the later one?

>>Or maybe this thread is the later one?<<

Yes - this is a 'new' thread -- as I posted above >>so maybe we don't reinvent the wheel . . . https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...witzerland.cfm <<

The OP seems to be looking for answers s/he like better . . .

@ janisj: Sorry -- it seems that I'm a little slow on the uptake today.

There are tons of places along the Swiss border from where you can easily reach Lucerne by train:
Bad Bellingen, Weil am Rhein, Loerrach, Rheinfelden (Baden), Basel airport, St. Louis, Jestetten, Lottstetten.......

But I cannot understand what that should be good for